Improvement in propeller-shafts



N PETERS, PHDTGLITHOBRAPER. WASHINGTON D C rtsi @edited Wg/wwf' WILLIAM BUR'IIS, OF vNEW YORK, N.v Y.

' Leners Patent No. 83,601, dam' Novanta s, .1868.

mrpnovnlvmN-'r IN PRoPELLnR-SHAI'TS.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BUn'rIs, of the city of New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Machinery of Steam Screw-Propellers, namely, a bed-plate abutment, in connection with double counter-shaft gearing; and I do hereby declare that the followingl is a full, clear, and exact `description of the construction' and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,

making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view. Figure 2 is a top view. Figure 3 is a sectional end view.

A is an abutment of cast-iron, securely fastened to the extended portion of the bed-plate of the engine. B is the bed-plate of the engine, and B', the extension thereof. f

C C are the double counter-shaits.

D is the gear-wheel ou the main or wheel-shaft E is the gear-wheel on the crank-shaft.

F F F Fare the gear-wheels on the counter-shafts.

'G G G G G are pillar-blocks. 4

H is the main or wheel-shaft.

I is the crank-shaft.

P is the propeller.

a is a a collar-thrust.

b is the bearing of the main shaft.

c is a screw for adjusting the main shaft. V

.d represents Ia block, of lignumvitse or brass; concave, against which the main shaft works.

e is the bearing of the crank-shaft.

f represents a liner.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention and improvements, Lwill proceed to describe its construction and'operation.V

I extend the bed-plate B of the engine about twelve feet further aft than those .in use at present, and securely fasten thereto a cast-iron abutment, A, against which the main or wheel-shaft H bears, instead of against the engine, as at present. I insert a concave block of lignumvit, d, or its equivalent, in the abutment'A, in which the end of the main or wheel-shaft revolves, thereby avoiding muclrfr'iction. Behind the block cl, when necessary, I place liners f, which-canA 2 be adjusted, as desired, by the screw c. The collar- "thrusta is the only collar-thrust I use, and it is only required when backing. I divide the main shalt H I into two separate shafts, termed the crank or engineshaft H, and the wheel-shaft; I. Between these divisions of the shaft, arranged inline with each other, I nterpose the abutment A, as aforesaid; and to communicate `motion from the engine to the wheel-shait, I

` provide the crank-shaft and wheel-shafts, respectively, with gear-wheels D and E. I combine with them two counter-shafts C C, each flnnished with gear-wheels F, meshing into the wheels D and E. The latter, and thewh'e'els in the counter-shaft, are varied in size, in the proper proportions, according to the df'erence of speed or power required for the' propeller-wheel with respect to that of the engine.

The pillar-blocks G G G G G, for the main, crank, and eounter-shaits are similar to those now in use, and are also sustained by the extension B of the bedplate. 'I

The advantagesderived om the u se of my improved arrangement of abutment and combination of double counter-shaft gearing are as follows:

. I am enabled entirely to separate the main shaft from the crank-shaft, and thus do away with the strain and pressure on the engine, which otherwise is incidental thereto, so that the engine and the crank-shaft, once set in line with the wheel-shaft, will always remaingin line. I further avoid the friction caused by the roller and collar-thrusts now used, only one collarthrust (for'the purpose of backing) being required. And the strain upon the main and crank-shafts is equalized, as one counter-shaft causes downward pressure while the other is causing upward pressure. Furthermore, in the event of a tooth in the wheel of either counter-shaftlbreaking, the shaft may he removed and the damage' repaired withoutstopping theengine, exceptmomentarily, to detach the gear-wheels.

What- I claim as 'my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-'- The applicationof-the double counter-shas C C with their gear-wheels F, in combination with the gearwheel E on the crank-shaft, and the gear-wheel D on the wheel-shaft, as herein described.'

WILLIAM BURTIS. Witnesses:

' -EDWARD Hsnnrs, M. F. LINQUIST. 

